Killing Without A Sword
My friend asked for pounded yam
I gave him pounded yam
with egusi soup whose taste
stuck the tongue to the palate
My friend asked for clothes
I fleeced the loom of bales
he spreads out in sanyan,
alabangada adorns his head
Now my friend asks me
to give him the moon
I perch on my toe
and stretch my body like rubber
but my hands never reach the sky
Tonight, I will send
a message to my friend:
our worst enemy is he
who sends us to pluck
a fruit deliciously beyond our reach
There are many ways of killing
without a sword
— Niyi Osundare
“Killing Without A Sword” by Niyi Osundare is a poem of twenty lines divided into five stanzas of varying lengths.
Glossary
- Egusi: melon
- Sanyan: expensive hand-woven cloth
- Alabangada: a kind of cap
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